Current Status of the Jupiter Europa Orbiter (JEO): Science & Science Implementation

Details Current Status of the Jupiter Europa Orbiter (JEO): Science & Science Implementation Current Status of the Jupiter Europa Orbiter (JEO): Science & Science Implementation

Sep 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008dps....40.3218p&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #40, #32.18; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 40, p.454

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Scientific paper

The Jupiter-Europa Orbiter (JEO) is one component of the proposed multi-spacecraft Europa Jupiter System Mission (EJSM). The overarching goal of JEO is to explore Europa to investigate its habitability. Europa is believed to shelter an ocean between its geodynamically active icy shell and its rocky mantle, where the conditions for habitability may be fulfilled. With a warm, salty, water ocean and plausible chemical energy sources, Europa is the astrobiological archetype for icy satellite habitability. It is also a geophysical wonderland of interrelated ice shell processes that are intimately related to the ocean and tides, and of complex interactions among its interior, surface, atmosphere, and magnetospheric environments. A mission to Europa has been studied for a decade and has strong links to and recommendations from NASA reports. The conditions at Europa are well-understood, and JEO is prepared for the radiation environment at Europa. Europa science is mature, and hypotheses are well-formed.
Five broad investigations have been defined to address the overarching goal: the Ocean, the Ice Shell, Chemistry, Geology and the Jupiter System. Measuring Europa's tides provides a simple and definitive test of the existence of an internal ocean - and the ocean and ice shell can be studied and characterized. Composition and chemistry form the linkages that enable understanding Europa's potential for life and habitability in the context of geologic processes, probe the interior structure, and record the evolution of the surface under the influence of internal and external processes. The search for recent or current geologic activity is important for understanding the origin of landforms, and especially significant for understanding Europa's potential for habitability. Understanding the Jupiter system as a whole is critical for placing Europa in its context as a member of the Jovian satellite system and for understanding the origin and evolution of the system, including Jupiter.

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